Terror Terra
by dark-prisim
Summary: (Sequel to Younger than Yesterday). Cassius and Alenna learn to mature through the years along with their odd family, the Guardians of the Galaxy. But can they learn to deal with a spaceship crash on a foreign planet?
1. Chapter One

_Cassius's POV_

I look like a stranger standing beside my sister.

Staring dully at her side profile, I notice, not for the first time, that everything is different about us. From the tips of our nose, the carves of our face, and curves of our lips – we are more opposite than fire and water.

As I continue to stare more closely, picking up on the little comparisons about us, I notice that our eyes look the same. Not the color, nor shape or size. It is the way they glimmer under the galaxy's light. And if you look close enough, there is an emotion behind those eyes saying 'I've seen things that I've never wanted to see'.

It only takes her a few more moments to register that I am staring. Her eyes flicker momentarily towards me and then she instantly looks away, "Cassius, stop it." she orders through gritted teeth as we walk through celestial village.

We are only a few minutes away from the Milano now, according a locative wristband that Rocket had designed. Not that I would ever admit it, but I think that the invention is incredibly effective. It locates any points that you set, and provides a holographic map with various highlighted pathways to the desired destination.

"What? I thought you like people staring at you." I smirk broadly towards my sister. With each breath more heat rises in puffs of white vapour, with each gust of the wind more heat dissipates into the whiteness. I pull my coat tighter around my body.

"Not like that, you creep." She mumbles deeply, her teeth chattering slightly. She pulls the basket close into her hip and sucks in a deep breath through her chattering teeth.

The more I watch my sister suffer from the extreme temperature, the more I feel guilty. With a defeated sigh, I unwrap the scarf across my neck tangle it across hers. "Here, take this." I say and dig my hands deep into my pockets. "I don't like it. Its material is very itchy." I lie.

Alenna doesn't respond to me, and we walk in silence. I think she knows that I just lied.

"So nineteen, huh?" Alenna speaks up after a few moments of silence. "Man, time flies." She laughs, sliding past a tight crowd of natives.

I don't think Mom and Dad are interested in any parties this year. Actually, Dad was more excited about parties than we are but Mom put him in his place. She told us that we didn't need one, and we had our family to celebrate it with. I don't mind really, it's not like I enjoy being squashed by crowds of people eating unhealthy foods and consuming alcoholic beverages.

"I agree." A small smile appears on my lips. "It was just like yesterday, the both of us playing tag around the Milano with Rocket and Groot," I recall.

"And when Nolana Dey wanted to join, you threatened to bring her doll to life to haunt her." Alenna laughs, shaking her head.

"And the time where we drove the ship together." I laugh.

"Or, or, that time! That time when we had a water fight in Xandar."

"Speaking of Xandar, do you remember the Collector?" I ask.

"Remember the nightclub?"

"Eating poisoned food."

"Stealing the Infinity Stones." Alenna says.

That's when everything goes quiet.

The wind whistles past our ears and slaps our faces with icy air. The only sounds that can be heard now are the snow crunching beneath our boots, the laughter and chatter of the lively citizens, and the hollow breathing from Alenna.

My wristband begins to beep, breaking the thick tension – thankfully. I raise the band to my face and tap once on the miniature screen, expanding the map into a hologram. The beeping stops. The red pinpoint on the map representing the Milano is actually right in front of us.

I lower the wristband away from face and look up to the spaceship only a few feet away.

"Well, we're here." I state the obvious. Alenna blankly glances over to me.

We enter the Milano in silence, not speaking to each other. She really should not have brought up the whole Infinity Stone fiasco, especially today of all days.

Inside the ship, it is dark and silent. Everyone must have fallen asleep early. I mentally sigh to myself. It would have been nice of them to make an effort to stay up a little longer and celebrate our nineteenth birthday. But it's not like I care or anything…

Alenna dumps her basket of goods on to the metallic bench top with a low sigh. "Lights, on." She speaks dully, and the lights flicker on at her command.

Instead of the empty space that I expected, there are people filling every inch of the Milano. I freeze and stare at them all.

"SURPRISE!" they all shout at once, with faces full of smiles and laughter.

"What?!" Alenna's face instantly lights up with happiness.

"S-surprise?" I mumble and scan the crowd. Amongst them all, they are all familiar faces; Mom, Dad, Rocket, Groot, Drax, the Ravagers, Nova Corps, Rhomann Dey, his wife, Nolana, amongst many others.

My family are the first to emerge from the crowd, and lively chatter amongst everyone arises as background noise.

"Mom, Dad," Alenna shakes her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you did this all for us!" she laughs happily.

"I am Groot." Groot speaks disapprovingly and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, we helped too!" Rocket joins in, standing on top of Groot's shoulder.

"Including myself." Drax adds.

"Anything for my precious children." Gamora smiles softly and pulls Alenna and I forward into her embrace momentarily.

As we pull back I speak, "But I thought you said that parties were nonsense, Gamora."

"I was lying, Cassius." She says and shakes her head at me. "And what's this 'Gamora' business? You're not that old yet." She scolds, pressing a cold hand on the side of my cheek.

I smirk and shrug as she removes her hand.

Mom starts to speak to Alenna, and Dad turns to me.

"Nineteen, man." He slaps a hand on my shoulder. "You're starting to get to that age where you need a cool nickname too." He nods.

"No thanks." I shake my head.

"What do you think about Wicked Wizard?" he suggests.

"Oh geez, dad -"

"How about Quantum Prince?"

"Stop. Please."

"Planet Protector?"

"I am done." I raise my hands in surrender and walk away.

"Oh, come on!" he whines.

As I slip through crowd, everyone pats my shoulder wishing me a happy birthday, and engaging in some small talk. Some people I barely recognise, so I suppose they're either Alenna's friends or someone insignificant.

"Hey Quantum Prince, we need some help over here!" a familiar masculine voice calls out from behind me in a teasing manner.

I sigh and slowly turn around to face the group. "Really? You're in on it too?" I arch an eyebrow.

The small group erupt in to laughter after I speak, and I walk over shaking my head in disapproval.

"Nah, happy birthday Cassius." Tayln congratulates with a smile.

I don't exactly remember how Tayln and I met to be honest. He works as a security guard at Xandar. I had gone to pick up a few things at a store with Alenna, but I ended up running into him – literally. We hated each other at first, but learned that we were similar. Too similar actually. Like the twin I never had. That was all four years ago, and ever since then we've been good friends.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" a few other people in group that I identified as minor friends greet in a scrambled union.

"Happy Birthday." Liara mumbles quietly, standing beside Tayln.

"Thank you all." I nod with a smile, catching the eye of Liara for a short moment before she averts her gaze elsewhere with a small grin.

Liara is a nurse. I met her after experiencing major injuries on battleground when wild mutant beasts were accidently released from a science compound in Xandar. She cured me, and we became friends somehow. She has a strong stubborn nature. She is confident about her choices and answers yet at the same time indecisive. I like that.

"You're getting older," Tayln says with a small smirk, and folds his arms. "Do you have a romantic interest? A, how do you say? Lady friend, by any chance?" he goes on.

There is a small dramatic silence as everyone practically leans forward with eagerness.

I roll my eyes up at him, "No." I answer dully. "I don't have time for a girlfriend."

"That's what they all say, when they can't even get their hands on lady." Tayln informs. "I on the other hand, have no trouble." He speaks and slides an arm around Liara's shoulders.

"Hands. Off." Liara says simply, and Tayln quickly jumps back apologetically.

I laugh lightly at them both.

"What about Alenna?" Liara asks me.

"What about her?" I ask back with a small frown.

Rocket and Groot glide by. Groot has different branches connected to a dozen trays of different beverages.

"Thanks," I nod as I take a bright purple colored drink from one of the trays.

"She got a stable boyfriend yet?" Liara asks clearly. "Or is Gamora still latched down on to her?"

I take a sip from the drink I hold and frown some more at Liara, "What do you mean by stable?" I question.

Her eyes flicker defensively, "No, no! I didn't mean it offensively, I just…"

"Shut it." I watch as Tayln nudges her roughly in the ribs.

Taking another sip of my bitterly sweet alcoholic drink, I stare at both Tayln and Liara trying to keep my cool.

"I'm not calling her a slut or anything." Liara quickly adds before clamping her mouth shut.

"You do realise that you kind of are in a way." I narrow my eyes.

"What does it matter Cassius?" Tayln turns to me. "Let's all calm down. And it's not like you used to care that much about her a few years ago." He speaks. "Especially with the Infinity Stone events and Nova going berserk."

I clench my jaw.

Don't do anything stupid, don't do anything stupid, don't do anything stupid.

Control your temper goddammit Cassius, you do not want to start anything in front of all these innocent people. At a party. _Your_ party. _Your sister's_ party. And with your best friend. Or who you thought was your best friend.

"He's right. " Liara agrees with a small nod. "You used to hate her as much as we did. And be honest, you tried to kill her on purpose those few years back, right?"

The more they talk, the tighter I clench my fists, and the more I feel myself reaching a higher level. One more sentence, once more word about my sister and I will be guaranteed injure somebody.

"Cassius," Tayln's eyes widen as he stares at me, and something behind me. "Look around you."

I take a moment to look around.

Cups and other items are levitating in the air evolved in a blue aura. Everyone around has stopped sipping on their cups and chatting to one other to stare in shock and fear.

"Cassius?" Drax stands amongst the people and stares at me with wondering eyes.

I unclench my fists, and take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. The blue aura vanishes, and all the items floating fall to the floor in a cluttered mess. But everyone continues to stare.

"Sorry ladies and gentlemen, perhaps you can experience my party tricks the next time you piss me off." I excuse myself sarcastically and weave my way through the still and silent crowd.

I make my way out to the deserted balcony, where no one stands and where I always go to clear my thoughts.

That could have ended in worse resolutions. But it hasn't even been thirty minutes and I'm losing it already. Tayln and Liara had no right to talk about Alenna and I like that, especially on our birthday. And they know I can't deal with people insulting me or my family.

This is why I hate parties. Why I hate socialising.

I lean against the railing of the Milano with a sigh, looking out to the cold dark scenery.

"Happy birthday to me." I mumble quietly to myself and take a long sip from the liquor in my cup, finishing it, and tossing it over the balcony side somewhere.

I wonder how my sister is doing.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Sorry, this story is long over-due. But I hope you enjoy it! Any questions just ask below. I also apologize for any errors because I'm beginning to fall asleep as I type this. Thank you!

-darkprisim


	2. Chapter Two

**I'm back! Sorry for the incredibly long wait! I've just been busy and had to take some time off to balance school and work and everything else in life. Hopefully you all understand and want to continue reading (maybe), otherwise there is no purpose to write this anymore. I may start a totally different fanficiton if that is the case. But for now, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Alenna's POV_

Everything had been going so well.

Until, of course, Cassius had to ruin it. Every single birthday he has to throw a big fuss and create unnecessary drama, leaving the day with a sour after taste. Just when I thought he could give this year a miss, he lost his temper and frightened our guests.

Ever since his developed training with Dad, nobody seems to know what he is fully capable of. Heck, I bet he doesn't even know. I mean, he barely knows how to control it anymore. But what I do know is that he's grown to become a danger. Like a firecracker; explosive and unpredictable.

But he is my brother.

The party went quite quickly after that, and Cassius was nowhere to be seen amongst the crowds. I wasn't the only one who noticed it. A few of his friends came to question me, and even some of mine too.

Even when the desserts had been brought out, he was absent and unseen. And he _always_ comes out for dessert. Even when he's pissed off about one thing or another and doesn't show up for dinner, he will slyly venture out of his room to sneak a plate before quickly locking himself back up again.

I lost my appetite and charisma at the party, and ended up sitting at one of the tables, pretending to acknowledge the conversation happening around me when all I could think about was what had happened. There have been numerous occasions where his emotions have affected his magic, but never had it been this severe before. How powerful is Cassius?...

That I do not want to know. And even if I did want to know, I wouldn't be able to find out.

What could have been one of the best nights of the year, turned out to be possibly one of the worst. I was so hyped for a party before our special day. A birthday party! Mom never lets have those in fear of the mess and drama. I guess she did have a point and all, but usually they're supposed to end up as enjoyable. This little conflict with Cassius only helped her case. Damn you, Cassius. Honestly.

The guests had left, they behind not only wrapped gifts and farewells but trails of garbage and wasted food. It looked almost as bad as the nights when Rocket gets drunk with Dad. Almost. But this was still bad and would surely take a long time to clean up.

"Disgusting." I watch my mother screw her nose up in disgust as she picks up a glass of mystery substance from the floor and quickly tosses it into a garbage bag. The place smells of liquor and the decay of sweet dishes. The combination is not pleasant. Groot and Drax are helping my Mom out while Rocket and Dad are, of course, nowhere to be seen.

I can understand why.

I go on to walk down the hallway and toward the comfort of my room. During the party, I insisted on changing into something more suitable. Rocket suggested a dress that he and Groot picked out, and so I exchanged my winter garb for their gift. It seemed like a really good idea at the time, but now I kind of regret it. It's tight and short and cold. Why do women even bother wearing these things? I just need to snuggle into my nice, warm…

A strange blue light flickering from underneath Cassius's doorway catches my attention and slows my steps.

Bed.

The light suddenly disappears after a heavy 'crack', 'thud' and curse or two in Cassius's voice. I raise a brow and move closer toward his door. Though as I lean closer and closer, the door of his room quickly slides up.

"Spying isn't your forte and you know it." My brother stands defensively at his doorway with his arms crossed against his chest. He appears impassive and blocks my vision of inside of his bedroom. From what I can tell, he was practising his stupid magic.

"I wasn't spying." I speak the truth. I was just literally walking by and he must have seen me as a threat. "Idiot."

He continues to stare and soon enough a frown replaces his plain expression. He mumbles something inaudible under his breath, and shakes his head before looking back to me. "I'm busy. Is there something you wanted?"

No. But if I don't answer with a good excuse, it'll only irritate him further. And nowadays an unhappy Cassius was not one to pass by. I rack my brain for something to say, and then I realise that I do in fact have something to discuss.

"Was…everything okay back there?" I find myself asking, referring to the scene he had created at my- _our_ party. His frown suddenly disappears and his stance becomes less defensive as he hears my words. "You gave everyone quite a shock…" I mumble, and watch him carefully.

He stays silent for a while, and then the arrogant façade I have come to know returns to cover his emotions. "Are you going to lecture me about how I embarrassed you in front of all you friends?" he asks, his voice dripping with sour disdain.

I frown, "What? No. I wasn't embarrassed." I was worried, I want to say. But I don't. He stares at me with an emotion I can't place, before I eventually give up with a loud sigh and begin to turn away, "Never mind." There is no point trying to speak to him when all he does is shut me out.

Before I could leave, I feel a firm grip on my wrist and turn back to my brother curiously. I expected something like 'goodnight', but instead, "Sorry." He apologises quietly. Whoa, hold up. _Cassius_ apologising?! Now that was something to cherish.

He releases my wrist and looks to the floor, "I didn't mean to ruin this for you." He appears genuinely sorry. "And…" he opens his mouth to say something more, but then is interrupted by a threatening creak and whine from the ship, causing the floor to become unbalanced.

My eyes widen, and I quickly grasp onto the door frame and Cassius does the same. Then, just like that, the floor returns to his usual balance and the creaking sound stops. What in the name of…

My brother and I share a worried look.

* * *

 **It's a short and quick chapter, but hopefully it would get better! I'm back from quite a long break, and my brain is practically dead from the amount of homework I've been getting around to! Has anyone seen Captain America: Civil War yet, by the way? (How amazing is it?!)**

 **Anyway, thank you very much for reading! Favorite, follow, comment~**


	3. Chapter Three

_Cassius POV_

At the sudden interruption of the ship rocking, I freeze and turn to look to my sister. She looked just as confused as I was, though there was more worry in her eyes. Taking a step out of my room, the door quickly slides shut behind me and I stride past Alenna and down the hall.

She's quick to catch up to me, "What was that?" she looks across to me for answers.

"Let's find out." I respond simply, because I honestly don't know. That has never happened before, and you can only wonder if it something dangerous. The smell of smoke and gasoline is now evident in the air and it makes my strides grow faster.

Coming out of the hallway and onto the main deck, everyone appears to be gathered on board and arguing about one thing or another. So caught up in their conversation, they don't seem to notice me or Alenna…

"Oh, so now you're blaming me, huh?" Rocket asks in disbelief, standing on top of the table with a heavy scowl directed toward my father.

"I never said that!" Dad exasperates, and then looks back towards Mom. "Gamora?" he hopes for backup.

"You were implying that it was his fault." She spoke smoothly and crossed her arms over her chest. Peter shoots her a look.

Before anyone else can have their say, Alenna begins walking forward, "Just what is going on in here?" she interrupts them in confusion, looking toward each member for answers.

"It wasn't my fault." Rocket exaggerates every word in order to get his message across. I slowly walk forward too, and glance to each of them. Something was definitely up and I wanted to know what. It wasn't good, that's for sure. They all seemed to be afflicting the blame towards one another.

"The rodent speaks of lies." Sometimes I think Drax says things like these just to get a rise out of Rocket.

"Call me a rodent again, tough guy!" Rocket snarls disapprovingly, yet doesn't make an advance toward him like he usually would. Mom sighs and shakes her head, turning her head away from the group.

"What, exactly, wasn't your fault?" I turn and ask him accusingly.

Mom starts to answer first, "Before your party, a certain somebody," she pauses and glances toward Rocket who shakes his head, "forgot to refill the Milano."

"Meaning?" I still don't understand, but I'm definitely not going to say it like that. Ruin my pride? Please. Not in a lifetime.

Alenna looks toward me, "Meaning that the transmitter doesn't have enough energy to work and auto-drive wasn't capable." _she_ explains to _me_. It's a little embarrassing in fact, since I'm usually the one doing the explaining. Is this what she always feels like when I explain things to her? At least she's not cocky about it, that's something I'm grateful for. I just nod at her answer and slowly look away, back toward our family.

"Wait a second." Alenna's eyes widen and I look back toward her. "If the transmitter wasn't working and auto-drive wasn't on, does that mean that we're…" she trails off. I realise it too.

"Lost?" I finish her question.

"I am Groot." Groot folds his rough branched arms across himself, and then turns to Rocket.

Rocket takes a deep breath before explaining, "Technically," he begins and scratches behind his right ear, "Yes. But hey, look at the bright side! This calls for some bonding time!" he tries to make the situation appear better with a cheesy grin.

"Since when have _you_ ever cared for 'bonding time'?" Dad stares at Rocket in disbelief before rolling his eyes up and groaning. "I can't believe you forgot to stock up. Now we're lost!" he walks around the space of the room.

"Do you not have any extra fuel stored up downstairs?" I suggest. Surely, you cannot be that unprepared. I mean, I know how organised my family is, but this is a necessity.

"The supply had been used up, and the walking tree and raccoon were supposed to restock the fuel while we were stationed." Drax answers distastefully, looking toward them both in the same manner.

"I am Groot." Groot frowns defensively.

"Yeah! He's right. No one told us about this. If I can recall, Gamora was the one who was supposed to go get the goods." Rocket refuses to take the blame in a stubborn manner.

"Excuse me?" Mom looks at him dangerously, with 'the stare'. I wouldn't argue against that if I were him, and that's coming from me. Luckily, he values his life, and doesn't say any more.

I watch as my sister begins to quietly pace in worry. She's biting down on her thumbnail and seems to be going through a series of thoughts in her head. This triggers my own worry. We're lost in the middle of the galaxy. I could always see it coming, but I never thought that it would happen on our birthday.

Glancing out one of the windows, it is dark and empty with only the vision of layers and layers of stars. No planets. No set-up stations. We can't land anywhere.

I'm not very good with mechanics, that's Rocket and Alenna's expertise. But I know that the ship doesn't have enough fuel, and so that means everything will stop working eventually. Would we be able to get help?

"Can we get into contact with Nova? Yondu?" I try to be helpful and suggest, but my thoughts only get shot down.

"I've tried. Several times. No response. There's barely enough energy to keep this damned ship running, and soon enough all holographic performances would be failing." Rocket says and then shakes his head.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Mom asks, looking across to everyone for anything. She was growing desperate. So was I. Lost in the middle galaxy with no sign of help, energy, and soon enough we'll run out of resources. We'll only survive for a few months if we don't think of something. Fast.

Rocket huffed, dragging a hand down his face in exhaustion. Everyone is silent, and no one answers my mother's question. We need energy to power the ship. Energy.

"Idea." I suddenly say to break the silence and all eyes immediately fix on me. "This may or may not work, but I could try and power the ship with this," I pause and raise my hand, clicking my fingers to produce a bright blue flame, "and hopefully find some civilised life until we get back on our feet." I allow the blue flame to dissipate while I wait for their reaction.

"See, we're not doomed after all!" Rocket looks up to Dad, who only scowls back at him in return.

Dad turns back to me, "Are you sure you can power an entire ship, Cassius? I know we've been practising with bigger and objects and all, but don't put pride in front of safety."

"Dad, it's the Milano. Not a planet. I'm fine, and it's only going to be for a while so I don't understand your stress." I tell him firmly.

He just sighs quietly in response, "Fine." He agrees with a light shrug and then turns to everyone else. "While Cassius gets onto that, two of us will go find some supplies and bring them up here for the time being." He begins to organise and distribute roles while I make my way to the commanding board of the ship.

It really is low on energy. The lights are so weak, it's actually quite difficult to see in the darkness. I rest my palms on the charging panels and allow the quantum force to flow into through the wires. At first it seems easy, and the ship actually gains a bit of power. But as minutes pass by, I feel my limbs growing weaker and heavier like led, but I do not hold back.

The ship still needs more energy for the transmitters to work. We need at least a map to generate. I need to hold on, just for a little longer. I do not know how far we've travelled, or in which direction we're headed but it's obviously not a place of the galaxy that any of us are familiar with.

Are we really doomed?

* * *

"Cassius, are you alright?- Uh, your nose…" Alenna approaches me after a while, and notices my nose for some reason. It must be bleeding. This generally happens after excessive use. I just ignore it and continue to power the ship. I don't need to worry about that right now.

Alenna doesn't say anything more and looks out the glass. "Hey Cassi-kuns," she begins to speak.

I frown and continue to look down at the control board, "I told you not to call me that." I mumble, but she goes on.

"Is that a…planet?" her voice is quiet.

I slowly look up from the board and through the glass, my focus refraining slightly. It is a planet. Round, blue and green, with patches of white cloud. It reminds me of Xandar, even the slightest, although this planet is richer in color and obvious has more saturation.

"Dad…" I call out, keeping my eyes fixed on the globe. "I think we found something."

Dad suddenly walks out of a room, eating a fruit and looking as casual as ever, "What is it?" he asks with a mouthful of food before stopping and realising what we were looking at. He drops his fruit and freezes, unable to say anything.

"What is it?" Alenna asks, curious of his reaction.

"Terra."


End file.
